The competition to be Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2010 was fierce. We reveal the shots that the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, deemed most stellar: capturing eclipses, the Northern Lights, the dim and distant Veil nebula, and more.

All winning images are on show at the Royal Observatory from today. The exhibition is free of charge and runs until February.

The Northern Lights are a beguilingly beautiful natural light show, the result of interactions between solar winds and the Earth's magnetic field. However, the exact cause of the mesmerising glows remains something of a mystery.

This picture, taken by Fredrik Broms, shows the Northern Lights seen looking up through the trees of the boreal forest on the island of Kvaløya, Norway. It was highly commended in the Earth and Space category.